What is your "always pack" or "never again" for big games/scenarios and/or camping?

[ChillswitchEngage]

As far as always pack - A plethora of socks and undies. Baby wipes and powder on deck, always. Bug spray/sunscreen, small camping stove/heater, stuff like that. I keep meaning to get one of those folding cart things for hauling paint/food/etc between the campsite and staging, any other things worth buying for QoL/convenience?

Never again - Have never really owned boots outside of snow ones since I usually play in trail runners or cleats. I knew there was a good chance of rain for Bones N Ashes this year last March so I bought a pair last minute and kind of half-assed wearing them around the house to break them in for a few days. Come Saturday, my choice was either walking with my shoes getting sucked off my feet every other step or wearing boots that would wear into my ankles hard after a short period. You can probably guess how Saturday went.....not well...Luckily I had broken them in enough + using extra socks to make Sunday a lot more enjoyable.

So, what are your items or rituals for having the best weekend possible when camping and playing at scenarios?

[Blackmagic71]

My never again:

One year I brought a 12’x12’ canvas walled spike tent to an Oklahoma D-day. It weighs about 100lbs, takes at least 45-60min just to set up and take down, and it takes up a ton of space in a vehicle to transport it.

It’s a cool tent with an old school vibe to it, but it was a ton of work for minimal reward.

When I travel for big games now I’m much happier sleeping in an air conditioned hotel room at night, and it makes packing SOOOO much easier.

[jpdgas]

Always:
-One complete extra kit, head to toe, barrel to tank.
-More water than I think I'll need
-Portable Shade and chairs

Never again:
-Steve

[iamthelazerviking]

Mine: don't go to scenarios or big games lol. Just not for me, not a fan.

[glaman5266]

For paintguns: my Tippmann Pro Carbine. That thing goes most places with me to begin with, but it has a sling. That alone makes it worth using for scenarios.

So I guess a sling, if the paintgun can use one. Really saves the arms for scenarios.

[SignOfZeta]

I don’t go to games so big I need days worth of spare clothes. I do always bring certain things.

A spare everything. Tank. Mask. Gun. Hoppers. If I can’t afford two of everything I can’t afford paintball because I can’t afford to waste an entire day because a screw fell out or something plastic finally cracked.

I recommend some kind of chrono. It can be handy not to wait in line so much.

Ice: it’s impossible for me to play paintball without getting hot unless it’s too cold outside to be playing paintball period. For this my solution is ice. Lots of ice. Big enough coolers to keep the ice frozen all day. Some ice goes into Yeti cups for drinking layer, some is “grey ice” that I dunk my dew rags, neck protector, jersey, etc in before every outing. Heatstroke sucks. Avoid at all costs.

[Grendel]

Always:

• Dried Apricot and Raw Nut Mix I make myself. I don't eat much while playing and a handful of this occasionally carries me through the day.
• individual cans of V-8 like the nut mix above a little helps carry me through the day
• Water plenty of water
• Toilet paper because the events almost always run out (baby wipes are good too).
• too much gear/clothing, you just never know.

Never:

• Candy/Sweets - makes me feel horrible and makes a mess most of the time
• bad attitude, no sense making the trip if I'm not into it even if I waste money. Rarely have I had a bad day playing paintball/scenarios but it has happened.
• passengers, I like to be on my time schedule. I used to always try to "car pool" but it usually did not work out well so I just take care of myself.

[Falcon16]

Always
5/50 pack
LG 10 leg rig for 10rds
multiple hoppers
extra markers
extra clothing in triplicate
TONS of gatorade (I'm looking at you Wasaga 2021 40C humidex)

Never pack
any thing I'm sure I won't use (I at one point was taking all my barrels with me to every game but not every marker that used them or sometimes none of the markers used them)
anything that needs to be refridgerated
a grudge (had some bad experiences at a scenario but I've just learned that who cares move on)

[Cdn_Cuda]

Big fan of gateraid. Learned years ago drinking a lot of water makes me have to pee a lot. Gatorade makes me pee much less.

[Riot]

This will change now that I have a camper, but this was a weekend scenario game list.

[SR_matt]

was scrolling fast... saw Malört, had to stop. Malört is always the right decision hahaha (granted thats normally for my curling bag but I have been tempted to bring it for paintball).

[Ecapnation]

There's traveling essentials but talking paintball specific...

Always:
- high protein snacks
- tons of water not cooled for playing beverages
- a completely different set of gear or jersey with different name/number. I like to disappear.
- fully vetted equipment that I know works
- cooler with cold Gatorade, water, and beer for after game
- extra socks of water hazard possible.
- extra goggles
- post game comfy shoes for field use

Never:
- unvetted gear I don't want any headaches
- food that can spoil
- mooch team members
- to many extra guns because then you become the rental hut
- non essential equipment... Yeah your nerf launcher is cool but are you going to really use it?

[coyote]

So,
I'm not the only guy that does the disappear into the crowd with the non team jersey with the wrong name and number.

Well played Brian.

[Ecapnation]

I almost always piss off someone at big games... I play straight and bring great wrath up on people who don't.

[Chappy]

Taking notes. I had most of this stuff already. But I’m glad I read this. I will not be taking Steve to the next scenario. Thanks jpdgas good looking out

[SignOfZeta]

After Monster Game this year I should have said that under the “NEVER” category goes reball. Nobody anywhere on the property should have any.

[The Inflicted]

After Monster Game this year I should have said that under the “NEVER” category goes reball. Nobody anywhere on the property should have any.

I had heard reports of this sort of thing at some scenario games up north earlier this year. Disappointing it's still a thing and spreading.

[chplnstone]

bring list:
triple redundancy on all pb equipment
minimum one table, chair, & shade
twice the water you think you'll need
microfibers, so many microfibers
spare footwear & socks
spraybottle of water

probably overkill:
yurt (did it once, best left to the sca)
large pavilion (unless staying the whole event & housing a group/packing out in the pouring rain)
anything that only runs co2
odd calibers (fpo restrictions)
more than a dozen 'primary' markers (how much can you really maintain?)

[SR_matt]

Always:
-Back ups for your backups (granted I don't think I ever have used my backups but I am also lucky and can tech my markers rather fast).

-Electrical tape and gaffers tape (and I mean the American meaning of gaffers tape which is not duct tape but the cloth type tape) lots of uses but one of the main ones is to tape up your porting if its raining

-If you have an old plastic barrel tube have that in your bag, its the better choice for rain protection on porting but most modern barrels dont come with them any more.

-A way to secure your keys in your gear. When I ran a tac vest I had a clip for a key and zipped my fob int he pocket. On my pants now I sew in a strap with a ring and a blank key that clicks into my fob (finally have the fancy keyless entry stuff and cannot lock the vehicle with the fob in it so have to carry it), I put these in zippered pockets just to have two layers and then I have a little neoprene sock I made from a beer coozie to give it protection incase it gets a direct hit)

-plenty of food/water

-plenty of OTC meds and a med kit (need all the stomach meds just in case)

-Tables, an ez up canopy, and chairs... dont forget stakes to secure the canopy because even with stakes you may be pulling it out of the trees... ask me how I know.

-zip ties

-full tool kit with spares for all rings/seals

-paint cooler

-if you want to shot CO2 you better bring the tanks prefilled

Not really always brings, but always do's:
-Get a hotel room, I did enough camping/car sleeping as a teen, its not worth it any more.

-Always fill your tank up when you have a chance to. do it early, and do it often. especially before final battles, no field is set up to handle the massive demand on the air system and you will be getting 3k fills.